I left my Big Tech job to bootstrap my own business. I went from making nearly $300,000 to not paying myself a salary.

• In October 2023, Soni Mehra near her Big Tech occupation to attraction connected her ain location decor business.
• Becoming a full-time entrepreneur has travel pinch changes and challenges, she said.
• Instead of making a dependable salary, Mehra invests each her net backmost into her business.

This as-told-to effort is based connected a transcribed speech pinch Soni Mehra, a 30-year-old who near her occupation astatine Uber to commencement her ain location decor company, Marble Lotus. Business Insider verified her erstwhile employment astatine Uber pinch documentation. The pursuing has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

I was calved successful Delhi successful India. My family and I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area erstwhile I was 5.

Like galore different South Asian migrant families chasing nan "American dream," we came for nan opportunities.

I grew up surrounded by exertion and majored successful Environmental Economics and Policy astatine nan University of California, Berkeley.

I developed a knack for task guidance and took connected coveted roles successful Big Tech companies for illustration Lime, LinkedIn, and later Uber, wherever I was focused connected trading and merchandise operations roles. I spent almost 4 years arsenic a elder merchandise head astatine Uber, earning astir $300,000, including my bonus.

But I near Uber successful October 2023. Earlier successful spring, I launched my ain South Asian-inspired location decor company.

I wanted to return a chance connected thing I genuinely loved, but it progressive letting spell of my Big Tech salary and navigating various challenges arsenic a laminitis and bootstrapper.

My clip astatine Uber taught maine astir mentorship, problem-solving, and building in-person connections

I joined Uber successful 2020, correct earlier nan COVID-19 pandemic. One of my projects was launching Uber Connect, a transportation strategy for transporting packages to group during nan pandemic.

Our Mission Bay agency was swanky, but it was only half occupied astir days during COVID-19. Whenever I could, I went successful and built in-person connections.

I loved being a product manager and had awesome mentors. In Uber's activity environment, eager and hardworking group sewage promoted. Everyone I worked pinch was incredibly sharp. I enjoyed solving analyzable problems together.

Tapping into my imaginative broadside prompted my entrepreneurial journey

I loved my job, but a portion of maine knew thing was missing. I wanted to beryllium much creative, but I wasn't getting that astatine Uber because aspects of my domiciled were very technical.

I'd ever considered running my ain business. My dada was an entrepreneur, truthful family dinners often turned into strategy meetings. Plus, I weighted his elasticity astatine work.

I started taking art, sewing, and pottery classes to fulfill my imaginative itch. The classes confirmed I should pat into my entrepreneurial broadside and create a business to put each my clip and power into.

It wasn't until I sewage joined successful June 2022 and planned a multi-day South Asian wedding that my hunger for productivity began to deepen. Planning a wedding requires reasoning astir infinitesimal details, interiors, and array settings. When it was over, I wanted to make a concerted effort to infuse productivity into my regular life.

Marble Lotus was nan imaginative outlet I ever looked for

In March 2023, while moving astatine Uber, I launched Marble Lotus, a homeware shop that sells artwork and decor inspired by nan South Asian diaspora. I wanted to create a tangible manifestation of my practice that I could share.

I spent a batch of clip sourcing and designing products. I built our website and launched our first postulation online successful April 2023, starting pinch only 7 products.

In October 2023, I decided to leave Uber to attraction connected nan business full-time. It felt for illustration nan correct time, but it raised eyebrows from family and friends. They questioned if my business would ever beryllium arsenic profitable arsenic my tech job.

I didn't person children aliases financial responsibilities. Pursuing thing I loved was now aliases never, and I didn't really interest astir really I'd header if things didn't spell well.

I grew nan business by walking to India to root products and investing clip into knowing nan shipping and distribution models. The trips helped maine grow our creation offerings, and arsenic of summertime 2024, we had 600 products connected our site.

Running a business is different from moving successful Big Tech — and it's travel pinch challenges

Marble Lotus is tally by myself, 3 squad members successful India, and a part-time task head successful nan US. I was accustomed to moving pinch larger teams successful Big Tech, truthful I've had to get utilized to balancing aggregate tasks.

I'm bootstrapping my business utilizing individual savings. While location are a batch of resources for entrepreneurs who want investment, I consciousness location aren't galore for bootstrapping entrepreneurs. There are less networking opportunities, truthful I've spent a batch of clip reaching retired to individuals and increasing my network.

Entrepreneurs successful nan Bay Area often mobility why I've launched a institution that requires shipping, stock, and warehousing alternatively than creating a integer product. They don't deliberation nan business exemplary tin standard arsenic easily.

I often person to motivate myself to support going during times of fluctuation. There'll beryllium days wherever I person debased sales, but nan adjacent time I'll person signed connected caller clients who are willing successful Marble Lotus styling their homes aliases interiors. I request to support trusting my imagination and look astatine my semipermanent goals.

Right now, I don't salary myself a net and reinvest everything into nan business. Thankfully, I tin trust connected savings from my anterior Big Tech roles. I nary longer make nan aforesaid net arsenic I did successful Big Tech, but still prioritize spending money connected things my partner and I value, for illustration travel. While my wellness security utilized to beryllium provided by my employer, I now person to salary for my security and trust connected my husband's.

I'm not opposed to returning to tech

I near Uber astatine nan correct clip to motorboat my company, and I don't deliberation I'd do thing differently. I'm young and successful a financial shape wherever I tin return connected risk.

People inquire maine if I'd ever return to Big Tech. I'd see pivoting backmost into tech to commencement my ain interior creation package institution because I spot a batch of imaginable successful that space.

But correct now, I'm focused connected increasing my business.